This baseballism is about a guy who has never left his Rick Monday Model, Spalding 42.3235 Baseball Glove behind. For 33 plus years it has been his trusty sidekick in any pickup game that may have come along.
Last night I watched the best 9 - 0 game that I’ve ever seen. There were so many storylines running throughout the ballgame that it was as intriguing as any nailbiter - but in a different way.
I tuned into my MLB Extra Innings package with the intention of watching a good pitching duel between Greg Maddux of the San Diego Padres and Danny Haren of the Arizona Diamondbacks. What I got was something completely different.
Now, I have to start out by admitting that I had no idea how good the Dbacks were going to be this year. My eyes were open to the entire crop of exciting young players on their roster - and look forward to seeing them deep into the playoffs at the end of this season. At one point during the game I tweeted my buddy CoolPapaC with the declaration that Arizona is the team to beat this year in the NL.
My insight came when Conor Jackson ran through second base in the bottom of the sixth to achieve his second triple of the game. With only a double left to achieve a make believe feat called “The Cycle”, he didn’t just throw out the anchor at second base to get recognition for the accomplishment - he earned my my respect right then. He scored the final run of the night on a sac fly that he would not have had he stayed on second base. Tip of the hat to my kind of player.
But this post is not about the Diamondbacks. This is about the future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux’s gutty performance, “taking one for the team” as they say.
As you probably all know, the Padres had to endure a 22 inning game on Thursday night against the Rockies at Petco Field, which didn’t finish until 1:21 am. Then they had to hop on a plane to make it to Arizona for the next night. Games like that blow the bullpens up, and can disrupt starting lineups such as keeping starting catcher Josh Bard off the field after catching the entire 22 innings the night before.
Greg Maddux didn’t get into the previous night’s game since he was going to be attempting to win his 350th game in Arizona (although I’m sure he tried). Unfortunately for the Padres, on Friday night it was just one of those games when he didn’t have good stuff - giving up an astounding 6 runs in the first inning.
On any other occasion he might not have even lasted through the first, as you could see the frustration on his face. And in a Questec park, maybe not getting the calls on the corners that he needs to be successful.
However, this Bulldog of a competitor was not going to let his team down by turning this game over to the bullpen. He gutted his way through 7 (seven!) innings on sheer will. Whenever his turn at bat came around I would just shake my head in delight as he continued in the game. His teammates and coaches owe him a debt of gratitude and I am sure they were well aware of the magnitude of the accomplishment, just as much as if he had won the game.
One of the highlights of the broadcast for me was when the dugout camera caught him after his first at-bat, clearly telling Bud Black that he was “going for a home run” on his first swing - Classic! Now that’s a ballplayer ….
Seeing this performance from Maddux was appropriate timing as we had just been having a little dialogue on the Baseballisms Facebook page about how special he is. While I was watching this transpire two thoughts crossed my mind.
The first thought was that it will be sweet poetic justice on the day that Maddux gets six more wins to pass Roger Clemens on the all-time list. It is the epitome of doing it the right way and the wrong way and how legacies are made. The guy who won with head and heart passes the ….. well, you know what he’s like.
Recognizing someone who honors the game of baseball the way Greg Maddux does is what Baseballisms.com is all about.
The other thought was that a trip to The Hall of Fame is in order when Maddux is inducted on the first ballot of eligibility. We’ll see you there!
Jomags
Yankees fan Shep Tapasak retells his brush with Billy Martin during a doubleheader on Banner Day 1975, while he paraded around with a “Billy Can!” bedsheet. Of note, this is during the mid 70’s when Yankee Stadium was undergoing renovations, so the early days of “Billy Ball” were actually at Shea Stadium.
Shep also references Billy’s impact on future Hall of Famer, Rod Carew.
Thanks Shep! Here’s to the Yankees Fans of the World!
